January 29, 2009

sports

Lady Dogs change course
Yellow Springs Lady Bulldogs basketball team turned around a losing streak and won the last three of their last five games.

The Lady Dogs lost to Dayton Christian, 68–58, on Jan. 12. The game started off on the wrong foot. Three minutes into the game the score was 10 to zero, Dayton Christian. The Lady Dogs didn’t score until Ashanta Robinson’s 3-point shot with four minutes left in the first quarter. Offensive execution and defensive rebounding hurt the team, and the first quarter ended with Dayton Christian ahead 19 to 7. The second quarter was more productive, and the Lady Dogs closed the gap by out scoring Dayton Christian 18 to 12, to end the first half down by 6. The Lady Bulldogs came out a little flat for the second half, and Dayton Christian jumped on the Bulldogs by out scoring the team 26 to 13 with 3-point shooting and tough defense, limiting the team to one shot per offensive possession. The third quarter ended with Dayton Christian leading 57 to 38. The Lady Bulldogs were able to make a run at Dayton Christian in the fourth quarter, but the comeback fell short. Ashanta Robinson led the team with 20 points, followed by Stephanie Scott with 16, and Melodie Wright had a career high,14 points.

It was a cold night on Jan. 15 when the Lady Dogs went down to Miami Valley, 47–24. The gym was cold at Miami Valley School, and the Yellow Springs Lady Bulldogs had a cold shooting night. Shooting from the 2-point range was 6 for 33, with 3-point shooting, 1 for 8, and foul shooting 9 for 21. Miami Valley’s tough man-to-man defense also contributed to the bad shooting. Yellow Springs did not reach double digits in all four quarters. Ashanta Robinson and Stephanie Scott scored 10 and 11 points, respectfully.

Up by one point at the half (31-30), the Lady Bulldogs turned up the intensity on defense in the second half and outscored the Cedarville Indians 27 to 9 to get back on the winning track on Jan 17, after losing five straight games since the Christmas break. Led by Ashanta Robinson’s 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Stephanie Scott’s near triple double (22 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 steals), the Lady Bulldogs held the Indians to 2 points in the third quarter, while scoring only 9 points for the quarter, the Lady Bulldogs put the game away in the 4th quarter by a score of 18 to 7. Foul shooting was the key to the victory, with the final score Yellow Springs 58, Cedarville 39.

The Lady Dogs overcame Stivers, 58–40, on Jan. 20. If the first half was a indication that this game was going to be over by the end of the third quarter, it was not. The score at the half was 24 to 5, Yellow Springs. But the Lady Bulldogs intensity level dropped in the second half, and it allowed Stivers to stay with the Bulldogs. Stiver increased their level of intensity and played Yellow Springs even in the second half. Stiver scored a total of 35 points compared to Yellow Springs 34 points. Stephanie Scott and Ashanta Robinson led Yellow Springs with 19 and 17 points, respectfully.

On Jan. 22, when the Lady Dogs played Xenia Christian, the game was close in the first half, with Yellow Springs leading 21 to 13. But with a change in the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs put a stop to Xenia Christian thoughts of an upset. The Lady Dogs applied pressure defense in the pivotal third quarter and out scored Xenia Christian 19 to 2. Stephanie Scott scored 13 of her 21 points in that quarter, along with a number of steals to get easy baskets to break open the game and cruise to a easy victory. Stephanie Scott finished with a triple double (21 pts, 14 rebounds, and 10 steals). Ashanta Robinson had a solid game with a double double, 24 points, and 10 rebounds. The final score was Yellow Springs 55, Xenia Christian 22.